Museum to investigate newly found Nazi letters written by famous Dutch poet Lucebert

The municipality of Bergen has tapped the Museum of Literature to research letters written by Dutch poet Lucebert during World War II. The museum described the letters as being “extremely unpleasant” to read as they are full of anti-Semitic slurs and a glowing fascination with the Nazi regime. The museum acquired the letters in 2022, four years after they surfaced, and the Noord-Holland town wants an independent study into their context

Lucebert was born in 1924, and lived and worked in Bergen for dozens of years before his death in 1994. His creative work is part of the town’s art collection. The municipality said in a statement that there has been unease for years about “how to deal with Lucebert’s art and legacy” regarding the time that he lived there, and the way he is currently perceived. The municipality noted that his name adorns a primary school, and his work is on exhibition at the Kranenburgh Museum.

The municipality added that Lucebert was a “multi-faceted person, but in the period before his poetry career, he made comments that caused you to wonder: What was going on then, and what do we think of it?”

The research by the Museum of Literature is meant to clear that up, and it will look at the letters from different angles. The results are expected in the first quarter of 2025.

The Museum of Literature took possession of the letters in 2022, which the then young and rising poet wrote to his childhood girlfriend Tiny Koppijn (1924-2016). In the letters, most signed with the Nazi salute, "Sieg Heil," there are messages describing his hope for a German empire.

Lucebert is regarded as one of the greatest poets since the World War II. He received the P.C. Hooftprijs and Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren. The two awards are among the most prestigious for literature in the Netherlands.